Human languages across the world have a wide range of variations in their grammatical properties. But, is there any limit to such variations? The search for properties holding across languages, or language universals, is a fundamental goal in linguistics, as it offers a window into our shared linguistic ability as a human kind. Meanings of *single words* is one area in which the research on language universals has been highly successful. However, the current literature is crucially limited in its empirical scope; it is largely restricted to traditionally logical words (e.g., “every”). This collaboration extends the research on word-meaning universals into an uncultivated domain: modal words, such as "may"/”must” and "believe"/"know". Recent semantic theories of *question sentences* suggest that the semantic behavior of modal words in questions reveals non-trivial cross-linguistic universals about modal meanings. To explore this line of research, it is crucial to systematically investigate a wide range of cross-linguistic data. In this project, we will entertain and evaluate hypotheses about modal lexical-semantic universals in view of language samples including Dutch, German, French, Hungarian, Romanian, Turkish, Ngamo (Nigeria), Japanese and Zapotec (Mexico). Given the empirical work undertaken in this project, the network will develop a proposal for the ERC Synergy Grant to further investigate the comprehensive theoretical explanations of word-meaning universals. This future project explores linguistic and cognitive-psychological explanations for why the universals exist in the first place, integrating methodologies from humanities, cognitive science and computer science.

This proposal is directly relevant to DIAL call theme 4 (labour market participation in later life and retirement), as analysed from the perspective of DIAL call theme 3 (labour market and family trajectories and the growth of inequalities). The aim is to investigate the gendered impacts of policies aimed at extending working life (EWL) in the Czech Republic, Ireland, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK, using a mixed methods research design, based on insights from life-course and gender studies. The project has 5 objectives, each addressed though a dedicated work package: 1) to analyse EWL policies from a gender-sensitive perspective, assessing tensions between “active aging” and gender equality goals, at the national and international level; 2) to trace intra-national continuities and change in gendered employment and family formation patterns over time, using existing panel data sets and sequence analysis techniques; 3) to assess the current working conditions of the 50+ group, across countries and occupations; 4) to explore the wellbeing and health issues faced by male and female 50+ workers in 3 contrasting occupations (health, transport, financial services), using innovative case-study methods to illustrate the combined effect of employment histories, family life events and intergenerational care services on the dynamics of inequality in later life; 5) to consult stakeholders and disseminate findings to policy makers, via gender-sensitive policy toolkits. All co-applicants will contribute equally to each work package. Expected outcomes include: innovative analytical framework; new research instruments; working papers and referred journal articles; dedicated databank; innovative policy toolkit.

This proposal is directly relevant to DIAL call theme 4 (labour market participation in later life and retirement), as analysed from the perspective of DIAL call theme 3 (labour market and family trajectories and the growth of inequalities). The aim is to investigate the gendered impacts of policies aimed at extending working life (EWL) in the Czech Republic, Ireland, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK, using a mixed methods research design, based on insights from life-course and gender studies. The project has 5 objectives, each addressed though a dedicated work package: 1) to analyse EWL policies from a gender-sensitive perspective, assessing tensions between “active aging” and gender equality goals, at the national and international level; 2) to trace intra-national continuities and change in gendered employment and family formation patterns over time, using existing panel data sets and sequence analysis techniques; 3) to assess the current working conditions of the 50+ group, across countries and occupations; 4) to explore the wellbeing and health issues faced by male and female 50+ workers in 3 contrasting occupations (health, transport, financial services), using innovative case-study methods to illustrate the combined effect of employment histories, family life events and intergenerational care services on the dynamics of inequality in later life; 5) to consult stakeholders and disseminate findings to policy makers, via gender-sensitive policy toolkits. All co-applicants will contribute equally to each work package. Expected outcomes include: innovative analytical framework; new research instruments; working papers and referred journal articles; dedicated databank; innovative policy toolkit.

What is the role of law in society, how should it function, and whose interests should it serve? These questions are not just exceedingly relevant for contemporary societies, but also played an important part in legal thinking in the ancient world. This becomes especially clear the works of the Roman author and magistrate Tacitus, who provides invaluable insight into the way educated Romans could perceive the law. However, his frequent and diverse reflections on the subject have been surprisingly under-researched. The proposed project will systematically analyse the way in which Tacitus discussed the origins and role of the law, its beneficiaries and its application, and connect this thinking to the wider legal discourse of his time. This interdisciplinary approach will transform the way we think about Roman law by focussing on how it was perceived and discussed by non-experts beyond the professional sphere of the jurists, whose specialist work has long dominated scholarship in the field. As such, it allows us to gain new insights into wider societal thinking about the role of law during a period in which attitudes towards the Roman legal system were starting to change in both the provinces and the imperial administration.

Water quality is often cited as a key driver of coral reef health, yet this topic is rarely studied in the Dutch Caribbean. In coastal waters, the origin, abundance, and distribution of pollutants and other compounds can positively or negatively affect the survival of coral reef communities. These inputs are influenced by terrestrial processes (including groundwater effects, geological features, and coastal development) and water column processes (including hydrodynamics, boundary layer effects, and nutrient stoichiometry). The SEALINK Program will build an interdisciplinary research team to assess how land-derived and waterborne inputs (including sediments, nutrients, pollutants, organic carbon, and pathogens) affect the growth and survival of coral reefs in the Dutch Caribbean. We will integrate this information into a mathematical modeling and community co-design process to test how novel management approaches (on land and in the sea) can enhance the ecosystem services provided by coral reefs to local communities. The interdisciplinary project team includes geologists, geochemists, oceanographers, marine ecologists, microbiologists, environmental geographers, and social scientists. We will standardize methods from land to sea in order to fully track (for the first time) the pathways and fates of diverse inputs and stressors. Using this information, we will develop a suite of models to forecast future coral reefs under a variety of land-use and ocean management scenarios. These scenarios will be refined through stakeholder engagement and a community co-design process. We will also explicitly study the cultural and economic factors that promote the uptake and use of scientific information in policy and education. By integrating natural and social sciences across the land-sea continuum, the SEALINK Program will produce the first comprehensive understanding of land-sea interactions in Dutch Caribbean coastal zones, thus securing the local knowledge base needed to maintain functional coastal ecosystems, protect infrastructure, and support economies across the region.